Draft and buffer gear



Sept- 22, 1936. R. J. OLANDER DRAFT AND BUFFER GEAR Filed ot. 17, 1934 l. /CPo/and J. /dnder illustrating my .improvements Patented Sept. 22, 1936 I DRAFTv AND BUFFER GEAR Roland J. Olander, Chicago, Ill., assigner to W. H. Miner, Inc., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delavare Application October 17, 1934, SerialNo. 748,699 ,Y

16 Claims.

in connection with mine cars.

One object of' the invention is Atoprovide a combined draft and buier gear for cars of simple. and rugged design, wherein both the draft and buing shocks are cushioned by thesame shock absorbing means.

Another object Vof the invention is to provide in a gear of the character indicated, including shock absorbing means, .mechanism for compressing the shock absorbing means inwardl'y toward the end of the car in both bu and draft, wherein said mechanism comprisespa pair of buliing heads and a draft member cooperating with the bufling heads for forcing the latter inwardly in draft to Icompress the shock absorbing means, the draft member being so arranged and designed as to effectively resist bending strains during draft action of the mechanism.

A more specic-object of the invention is to provide a combined draft and buier gear for mine cars, inclu-ding cushioned buier heads at` opposite sides of the end of the car, and draft means centrally of the end of the car in the form` of a single rocking lever member having camming action on the buier heads to force the latter inwardly againstv the cushioningY means.

'A still further object of lthe invention is to provide a draft member in a mechanism of the character specied in the preceding paragraph, which'is rockable about a horizontal axis, andhas Va pair of arms` which have camming engagement respectively with the bufling heads, Wherein the arms are formed integral with a connecting barlike portion adapted to extend through a link member, forminga part of the coupling means, to operatively couple the draft member to an adjacent car. Y

Yet another object of the invention is to` provide a combined draft andbuffer gear of the character set forth, so designed that the same may be quickly and easily assembled and held in said assembled relation by novel retaining means so arrangedV as to be free of allstrains due to the operation ofthe gear. i

Other objects of the invention will more clearly appear from the description and claims hereinafter following. Y

In the drawing forming a part of this speci- Iication, Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view, partly broken away, of one end of a mine car, in connection therewith, the section corresponding substan- :tially to the line I-'I of Figure 2. Figure 2 is a front elevational `view of the structure shown in. Figure l. lFigure 3 is a rvertical Vsectional View; corresponding Ysubstantially to the line 3-3 of FigureV 2. I

In said drawing, I designates the end portion of a mine car to which my improved combined draft and buffer gear V'is attached. My improvements comprise broadlypa support A secured to the car; a pair of bui-ling heads B-V-B; a. draft member C and Ytwo sets of springs D--D and D-D. As shown, the minecar is providedi` withthe usual end sill II, bottom wall I2, andend Wall I3.v The end wall is reinforcedby an angle bar I4 and the-bottom wall I2 is secured to the end. sill, as shown. Y

The `support A comprises -a plate section I5,V inturned, vertically extending, side flanges- I6--I6, and an inwardly extending, horizontal bottom flange I7. The support A is Xed to the end of the car by means of rivets, orrany other similar securing elements, extending through the plate section I andthe vertical -endwall II)` of the ,car, the side flanges I6-I6 and the side walls. I2-I2 of the car, andA through the bottom flange- I'I and the bottom vwall- I2 of saidl car. Atop-gposite sides of the car, the support A is .providedr with horizontally extending, Vvertically spaced,

top and bottom webs I8--I8 and IB-IB. Adjacent to the outer ends, the top and bottomwebs I8-I8 at each side of the car are provided with outstanding ear portions I9--I9, which4 have vertically aligned bolt-receiving openings.` `The.

top and bottom webs I8-I8ofxeach set are provided with vertically disposed, transverse vflanges -,20 at their outer edges, the flange 20 ofthevv upper web projecting downwardly and the flange 20 of the lower web projecting-upwardly. The flanges 2li-20 of each set of webs I 8-I8 are cut away at their outer ends v.adjacent to the ears, I9-V-I9, as indicated at 2I--2I. At thev inner ends, the top and bottom webs I8I8 of each set are provided withl transversely extending stop ilanges `Z2--22, the stop flange 22 of the upperl web beingl directed downwardly andthe-stop ange of the lower web being directed upwardly.

The bufng heads B-B, .which are disposed at opposite sides of the` end of the car, kare of like design; Each bufng head is in the form of a hollow-cuplike member having a vertically disposed front wall 23, spaced, horizontally disposed, top` and bottom walls 24-24.and spaced,V vertical,y side walls 25-25. The front wall 2,3Y presents an outer `hurling face, whichfcooperates with the outerk bufng face of Aa similar buing.

PATENT oriflycr.v

head B on an adjacentcar. The topjand-boti551;

tom walls 24-24 of each buiing head are provided with transverse, vertical fianges 26-26 at their inner ends. The side walls 25-25 of each bung head are provided with vertically disposed anges 21-21 at their inner ends. As most clearly shown in Figure 2, the inner ends of the flanges 26-26 and the upper and lower ends of the inner flange 21 of each bufiing head are cut away or notched, as indicated at 28. The top and bottom flanges 26-26 of the buing heads B-B are engaged in back of the flanges 2li-2l] and 20-20 of the webs l8-l8 and l8-I8 of the support A. The shoulders on the top and bottom flanges 26-26 of each bufng head, which shoulders are formed by the cut away portions 28-28, have shouldered engagement with the transverse flanges 22-22 at the corresponding side of the support A, thereby limiting lateral inward displacement of the buing head. Each bufng head is also held against lateral outward Y movement by a retaining bolt 29 extending through the openings of the ears I9--l9 at the corresponding side of the support A. As most clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2, each bolt 29 is disposed in front of the vertical ange 21 at the outer side of the corresponding bufling head B and engages the outer side wall 25 of said head.

The draft member C comprises a pair of spaced, vertical arms 30-30 connected at their upper ends by a transverse rodlike portion 3l, which is preferably of cylindrical cross-section. The rodlike portion 3| is of such a size as to pass freely through a link 32 which forms part of the means for coupling the car toY another car. At the lower ends of the arms Sil-30, the draft member C is provided with laterally extending bearing portions 33-33, which are of cylindrical crosssection. Y At the outer ends, the bearing portions 33-33 are provided with cam lugs 34-34, which `bear on the inner flanges 21-21 of the builng heads B-B. The draft member C is swingingly supported on the support A by means of U-shaped bearing brackets 35-35, which are fixed to. the vertical plate section I of the support A by means of rivets, or other similar securing elements extending through securing lugs 36-36 and 36-36 of said U-shaped bearing brackets and said plate section I5. The loops of the U-shaped bearing brackets 35--35 are of such a size, as clearly shown in Figure 3, as to form bearing means for rotatably supporting the bearing portions 33-33 of the draft member C.

The springs D-D and D-D, which yieldingly oppose inward movement of the bufling heads B-B, are arranged in pairs at opposite sides of the mechanism, each pair being containedwithin the corresponding buiing head B and theY spring members D-D of said pair having their front and rear ends bearing respectively on the inner side of the front Wall 23 of the bung head and o n the front face of the plate section l5 of the support A.

In assembling the parts of the mechanism, the flanges 26-26 and 26-26 of the buffng, heads are engaged in back of the flanges 2li-2D and Ztl- 20 of the support A by sliding the bufng heads B-B with the springs D-D therein, laterally inwardly. After the parts have been thus far assembled, the bolts 29-29 are attached to the ears I9--l9 and l9|9, thereby holding the 704 bufling heads against lateral displacement. As will be evident, by arranging the bolts 29-29, as described, the same serve merely to hold the parts in position by preventing lateral movement of the bufng heads B-B, said bolts not being wplaced under any strain during the action of the gear, the flanges 26--26 and 26--26 of the support A being the sole means for limiting outward movement of the bufiing heads. The coupling link 32 is .assembled with the draft member C by engaging the link over one of the cam lugs 34 of said draft member and then passing the link over the bearing portion 33, the arm 3D, and the connecting portion 3|. The draft member is next secured in position by means of the U -shaped supporting brackets 35-35 with the cam lugs Sil-34 bearing on the inner flanges 27--21 ofthe bufng heads B-B.

Theroperation of my improved draft and buifing gear is as follows: Upon a pulling force being 'applied to the link 32, the draft member A will be .swung outwardly, pivoting on the bearing portions 33-33, thereby swinging the cam lugs 34--34 inwardly against the inner flanges 21--21 of the two bufling heads, and rocking the heads inwardly against the springs D-D and D-D. During the buifing action, the heads B-B are forced inwardly against the cushioning springs D-D and DD. Outward movement of the bufling heads B-B is limited by the flanges 26-25 and 25-'26 thereof coming mto engagement lwith the flanges 20-20 and 23-20 of th-e support A.

I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred manner of carrying out my invention, but the same is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes Vand modications that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim: Y

l. In a combined draft and buffer gear for cars, the combination with fixed abutment means on the end of the car; of Ya supporting member; bufng heads at opposite sides of said end of the car, said heads being slidable inwardly on the supporting member; cushioning means interposed vbetween each head and the abutment means and opposing inward movement of said head; and a draft member comprising vertically disposed lever means swingable about a fixed Ybuffing heads for forcing said heads inwardly toward said fixed abutment means.

2. In a combined draft and buffer gear for cars, the combination with fixed abutment means on the end of the car; of a supporting member; bulng heads at opposite sides of said end of the car, said heads Vbeing slidable inwardly on the supporting member; cushioning means interposed between each head andthe abutment means'and opposing inward movementrof said head; and a rocking draft 4member mounted on said support between said bufng heads, said draft member having a Vpair of lever arms rigid therewith and in camming engagement, respectively, with bufng heads to force said heads inwardly toward said fixed abutment means.

3. In a combined draft and buffer gear for cars, the combination with fixed abutment means 0n the end of the car; of a supporting member; bufling heads at opposite sides of said end of the car, said heads being slidable inwardly on the supporting member; cushioning means interposed between each head and the abutment means and opposing inward movement of said head; and a vertically disposed rocking draft member between said bufling heads, said draft member being'pivoted on said support forrswinging movement about a horizontal axis, said draft member having means rigid therewith at one side of theV pivotal axis thereof for attachment of a coupling element and having means rigid there- Withf; at .ther-opposite side of said pivotal axis engaging the buiiing heads for forcingxthe lat-j bufiing heads' at 'opposite sides of said end of the car, said heads vbeing 'slidable inwardly Von the Supporting member; cushioning means inter` posed between each. head Yand the abutmentr means' and opposing inward movement of said' head; a vertically disposed rocking'draft member between said burning heads, said draft memberk being Vpivotedzon said support for swinging movement about a horizontal axis; a coupling element connected to said draft member above said axis; and means on said draft member-.be.

lowsaid axis having camming engagement with the buiiing heads for forcing the latter inwardly"V toward said xed'abutment means.

`5. In :a combined draft and buffer gear for cars, the combination with fixed abutment means on the end of the car; of a supporting member; buiflng. heads at opposite sides of. said end of the car, said heads being slidable inwardly on the supporting member; cushioning means interposed between each headand the abutment means ,and opposing inward movement Yof said Yihead; a vertically,disposed'rocking draft memberbetween said buiiing heads, said draft mem ber being pivoted on said support for swinging movement about a horizontal axis; a coupling" element connected to said draft member abovev saidfaxis; and a pair of laterally spaced depending arms on said draft member having camming engagement respectively with said bufiing heads to force the latter inwardly toward said fixed abutment means.

6. In a combined draft and buffer gear for cars, the combination with xed abutment means on the end of the car; of a supporting member; bung heads at opposite sides of said end of the car, said heads being slidable inwardly on the supporting member; cushioning means interposed between each head and the abutment means and opposing inward movement of said head; and a draft member disposed between said buifing heads, said draft member comprising a pair of vertically disposed spaced arms, pivoted between their ends to swing about a horizontal axis, and a transversely disposed coupling link receiving member rigidly connecting the upper ends of said arms, the lower ends of said arms having camming engagement with said bufling heads to force the latter inwardly toward said fixed abutment member.

'7. In a combined draft and buffer gear for cars, the combination with fixed abutment means on the end of the car; of a supporting member; buffing heads at opposite sides of said end of the car, said heads being slidable inwardly on the supporting member; cushioning means interposed between each head and the abutment means and opposing inward movement of said head; and a draft member disposed between said bufiing heads, said draft member comprising a pair of vertically disposed spaced arm members rigidly connected at their upper ends by a transverse bar element adapted to extend through a coupling link, a pair of laterally extending bearing portions on the lower ends of said arm members journaled on said support for rotation about a horizontal axis, and arm members projecting radially from said bearing portions and engaging said buiflng heads to force the latter inwardly toward said fixed abutment member. .Y

8. In a combineddraft andfbiifferv gear'for cars, the combination with a supporting member on the end of the car; of spacedv bufng heads slidable inwardly on said supporting member, saidzheads having bearing surfacesat adjacent ends; means 'on saidmember limiting outward movement of the bufling heads;v cushioning means yieldingly Vopposing inward movement of said heads; and a draft member comprising a draft arm and vertically disposed leverv meansflxed to said arm andV swingable about a horizontal pivotal axis on said supporting member, said lever meansengaging with the bearing surfaces ofV said heads to force said heads inwardly toward the end of thev car.

' 9. In a. combined draft and buffer gear for cars, the combination with a supporting member onl the end of the car;rof laterally spaced bufling heads slidable inwardly in va horizontal direction on said supporting member; laterally projecting flanges -on the inner sides of the buiiing heads;

meansyieldingly opposing movement of said heads inwardly toward the end of the car; means on said supporting member, limiting outward movement of said bufling heads; a swinging draftY member; means on said supportv for supporting said draft member fo-r swinging movement, about" a horizontal axis, between said heads; and means on said swinging member, rigidtherewith, 4engaging said flanges of the bufng heads for forcingY said heads inwardly toward lsaid end ofthe car when said swinging member is`actuat`ed in l0. In: a combined draft and buffer gear for cars, the combination with a supporting member having horizontally disposed top and bottom walls provided with transverse abutment flanges at their outer ends; of laterally spaced bufling heads slidable inwardly betwen said top and bottom walls, said heads having transverse top and bot- Vtom stop iianges engageable with said flanges of the supporting member to limit outward movement of said heads, each of said heads also having a. laterally projecting vertical flange at the inner side thereof; means yieldingly opposing movement of said heads inwardly toward the end of the car; and a draft member comprising vertically disposed lever means forming fixed parts of said draft member and swingable about a horizontal axis on said supporting member, said lever means having engagement with the inner flanges of the bufling heads for forcing said heads inwardly toward said end of the car.

11. In a combined draft and buffer gear for cars, the combination with a supporting member at the end of the car, said supporting member having horizontally disposed top and bottom walls at opposite sides o-f said end of the car, said top and bottom walls having vertically disposed, transversely extending, abutment flanges at their outer ends; of inner stop shoulders on said top and bottom walls at each side of said end of the car; laterally spaced buiiing heads slidable inwardly between said top and bottom Walls, said heads having transverse top and bottom stop flanges engageable with said flanges of the supporting member to limit outward movement of said heads, said heads also having laterally projecting, vertically disposed, flanges at the inner and outer sides thereof, each of said heads being held against lateral inward displacement by the stop shoulders at the corresponding side-of said end of the car; detachable retaining means exsides of said heads to hold said heads against lateral outward displacement; means yieldingly opposing movement of said heads inwardly toward' said end of the car; and a draft membercornprising vertically disposed lever means swingable about a horizontal axis on said supporting member, said lever means having engagement with the flanges at the inner sides of said heads for forcing the latter inwardly toward said end of the car.

12. In a combined draft and buffer gear for cars, the combination with a supporting member; of laterally spaced buiing heads movable inward- 1y on said supporting member; means yieldingly opposing inward movement of the buing heads; and a crank member journaled on said support for actuating the bufling heads, said crank member having an arm engageable with a coupling link.

13. In a combined draft and bufing gear for cars, the combination with a supporting member; of a buing head movable inwardly with respect to said supporting-member; means yieldingly opposing inward movement of said head; and a crank member for actuating said bufiing head, said crank member including a bearing portion journaled on said support, and radial arms at opposite sides of said bearing portion, one of said arms having bearing engagement with the bufling head and the other of said arms receiving the pulling force in draft. Y

14. In a combined draft and bufng gear for cars, the combination with a supporting member, of laterally spaced buing heads movable inward- 1y with respect to said supporting member; means yieldingly opposing inward movementV of said heads; a crank member iournaled on said supporting member for actuating said heads, said crank member having an offset central crankv portion adapted to receive the pulling forces in draft.

, 15. In a combined draft and buing gear for cars, the combination with a supporting member; of laterally spaced bufng heads movable inwardly with respect to said supporting member; means yieldingly opposing inward movement of said heads; a crank shaft member between said heads, said crank shaft member having spaced bearing portions journaled on said supportV for mounting said shaft for rotation about a horizontal axis, said shaft having an offset crank portion between said bearing portions receiving the pulling force in draft; and means on said shaft engaging the buing heads to actuate the same when the shaft is rotated.

16. In a combined draft and buing gear for cars, the combination with a supporting member; of a crank shaft having an offset crank portion between the ends thereof, said shaft being journaled at opposite ends on said member for rotation about a horizontal axis, said offset crank portion receiving the pulling force in draft; a pair of bufling heads at opposite ends of the crank shaft, said heads being movable inwardly with respect to said supporting member; means yieldingly opposing inward movement of said heads; and means onV said crank shaft having camming engagement with the bufling heads Vfor forcing the same inwardly.

ROLAND J. OLANDER. 

